IEX average spot power rate hits 5-month high in September

The average spot power price at Indian Energy Exchange touched a five-month high of Rs 2.43 in September due to higher demand, particularly from industrial units, indicating buoyancy in the manufacturing sector.

"The spot price of electricity has been on a slightly higher side in September due to high demand, particularly from industrial units," an IEX official told PTI.

An expert said this is an indication that there is buoyancy in the manufacturing sector, which will eventually push the economic growth this fiscal.

Yesterday, the the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India's growth rate in 2016 and 2017 at 7.6 percent, up from its earlier projection of 7.4 percent.

The average power price was recorded at Rs 2.91 per unit in April this year. It was on the lower side at Rs 2.32, Rs 2.31, Rs 2.16 and Rs 2.17 in May, June, July and August, respectively. The figure went up again to Rs 2.43 per unit in September this year, the highest in the last five months.

IEX, in a statement, said the IEX Day-Ahead Market traded 3,630 million units (MUs) in September, the highest ever monthly trade since its inception in 2008.

On a daily average basis, 121 MUs were traded, 9 percent increase over 111 MUs traded last month (August).

The open access consumers accounted for about 60 percent of volume traded while the rest was on account of distribution companies.

With average daily sell bids at 8,719 MW and purchase bids at 6,109 MW, the market remained buyer-friendly. The Market Clearing Price (MCP) for the month was very competitive at Rs 2.43 per unit even though overall demand for power was high, IEX said.

On September 8, 2016, the highest ever peak demand of 156 GW was recorded in the country. The average Area Clearing Prices (ACP) on the exchange varied to Rs 2.73 per unit from Rs 2.35 across regions.

Overall, nearly three MUs were lost due to congestion on a daily average basis. Import of power, especiallyin the northern region, remained affected due to constraints on the inter-state transmission network.

The uniform rate prevailed on four days - September 1, 3, 4 and 12, in line with the One Nation, One Grid and One Price motto of the government.